Relationship between Psychological Status and Health Behaviors during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Shuichi Hara,Hiroko Miura,Tsuyoshi Hita,Yumi Kozaki,Yoshiko Kawasaki,Sahara Sasaki,Hidetoshi Ito

doi:10.3390/ijerph182111512

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to be a widespread pandemic. We investigated the relationship between anxiety/stress and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in homebound Japanese older adults during January and February 2021. We surveyed 1507 community-dwelling, older Japanese adults using a self-administered questionnaire on primary attributes, including family structure, evaluation of psychological anxiety/stress, and health behaviors. Participants were divided into four anxiety/stress groups based on the frequency of experiencing anxiety/stress, and their association with health behaviors was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Responses were received from 469 (31.1%) respondents. In the bivariate analysis, age and family structure were significantly associated with anxiety/stress (p < 0.01). The health behaviors significantly associated with anxiety/stress were walking, balanced eating habits, limited snacking, regular lifestyle, and dental visits. Logistic regression analysis was performed using the variables in the bivariate analysis that showed a significant association with anxiety/stress status as independent variables. Finally, age and dietary habits were significantly associated with anxiety/stress status. No significant associations were found between any other variables. Among older adults living in the rural areas of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety/stress status was significantly associated with age and dietary habits but not with other health behaviors.

Highlights

Since the first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed in Japan in January 2020, more than 1.5 million cases of infection have been reported nationwide as of early September 2021 [1]
The results of the present study indicate that approximately 70% of the respondents felt anxious during the COVID-19 pandemic and that a high percentage of the stress they experienced was related to infectious diseases and health
These results suggest that those under 80 years of age who interact with others may be more susceptible to the effects of social changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Introduction

Since the first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed in Japan in January 2020, more than 1.5 million cases of infection have been reported nationwide as of early September 2021 [1]. In April 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Japan, which led to requests for cooperation, such as refraining from going out of the house unnecessarily and restricting events and the use of public facilities [2]. Since it was reported that the mortality rate of older adults infected with COVID-19 was high, the system for providing nursing care for the elderly in Japan was severely restricted. As for the older adults living in the community, restrictions were imposed on going out, the implementation of care prevention classes organized by municipalities was postponed, Int. J.

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